


Clumsy Pearl

by Nessalie



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Future Vision, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Regeneration, Sad, Steven the Swordfighter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-28 23:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3873931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nessalie/pseuds/Nessalie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose would have never missed such obvious foreshadowing, but then again Pearl shouldn't have missed the perfect moment to defend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clumsy Pearl

For all of her grace, Pearl could never stop herself from tripping up in front of Rose. Out of all of the similarities Steven could have inherited in his relationship with Pearl, Garnet found it funny how that one happened to remain steadfast between them. That, and of course, Pearl’s strong desire for Steven’s attention. Her feelings were nowhere near romantic as they had been with Rose, but rather protective in a way that Pearl was only capable of being now that Rose’s gem gave life to a small adventure prone child. She rarely missed a chance to show off.

“Oh come on, it was so obvious. He's been mopping in the background of every fight scene. Look, here he is on the cover of the box.”

Garnet could see where Pearl’s thoughts continued to, even though she bit her tongue. _Rose would have never missed such obvious foreshadowing._ Mind reading was not a feature of future vision, and there were no paths in which Pearl would ever say such a thing to Steven; the knowledge only came with thousands of years of familiarity between the gems. Steven’s mere decade or so protected him from the sting of harsh words that time would eventually release from his dear friends: words of war and truth and loss that for now could be avoided, if Pearl would just be quiet for once. 

“Oh come on, this is ridiculous. Just look at their form, this is nothing like _real_ sword fighting.”

Garnet shushed her, under the pretense of movie watching, trying to steer the present away from an unpleasant path that Pearl was so intent on reaching.

“ Well, if you ever want to see a demonstration of proper sword techniques, I'd be happy to show you.”

Steven’s hand fell intently onto Pearl’s head and with his starry eyes, so much like Rose, he was impossible to refuse. They soon found themselves in Pearl’s training grounds, Garnet quickly lowering his hand when Pearl mentioned need of a partner to reduce the number of stream options in which Steven could be hurt. Sure, he could use Rose’s shield and his protective bubble appeared almost instinctually, but his mortality was another matter. He was almost certainly capable of death by old age, if he ever allowed himself to feel so old again. Protecting him was of the utmost importance, for even with a map of many possibilities, whether or not Steven could regenerate was a point that existed beyond Garnet’s sight, and it terrified her more than she or any of the gems could say. 

Pearl’s sparring was a soothing sight. While Garnet could proudly say that she steered her own ship through the river of time, Pearl danced upon its waters with ease when it came to combat. Her every movement was aware; she jumped from stream to stream, weaving elegantly with every blocked strike. As a waterfall approached by way of a disarming move, she sank fluidly into a lake, piercing her enemy from below. 

“Pearl! That was amazing, you were so cool!”

“Oh-ho, well, one does try their best,” Pearl replied, blushing at the compliment, once again mistaking Steven for Rose. 

She needed to stop doing that. Steven was just a child, and deserved better. He was allowed to get impatient with sword training; they had carefully protected the earth so that he could learn at his own pace, if he ever chose to hold a sword at all. 

Pearl’s annoyance tripped her up.  
Garnet hadn’t paid attention to trajectories concerning Pearl’s safety since long before Steven came into their lives. Even now, Pearl’s main concern was consoling Steven while the blade still rested in her abdomen.

“Woopsie, Daisy! Steven, it's okay. I'm gonna be just-”

Fine. She could take some time to think about her mistakes while Amethyst and Garnet were left to clean up the mess.

“Steven, it's okay, Pearl's going to be just fine,” Amethyst soothed. If that wasn’t a call for panic, Garnet wasn’t sure what was.

“Whaddya mean?”

“Sometimes, if our bodies are badly damaged, we release our physical forms and retreat to our gems to regenerate.”

“So she's gonna be okay?”

“Don't worry bud. These kinds of things just happen sometimes. Usually to me.”

“Always to you.”

It had been a decade since Pearl or Garnet had regenerated, a testament to the fact that sometimes, the damage didn’t need to be physical to require regeneration. Amethyst took her cue with a grace Pearl would compliment if she wasn’t otherwise engaged, and got Steven to laugh. He’d spend the following two weeks nursing Pearl’s gem and eagerly awaiting her return, while Garnet and Amethyst postponed any missions and tried to distract Steven with light-hearted humor, albeit somewhat too literally.

“Ugh, Steven, why are you still hanging out with that thing? It's gross,” Amethyst commented as she threatened to float away from Garnet’s grasp.

“ I just really miss spending time with Pearl.”

“Pearl will come back to us in time Steven. Have patience.”

Garnet understood the need to carefully consider a proper physical form, but she too hoped that Pearl would move it along, as Steven’s latest company was less than desirable. 

“And stop hanging out with that thing. It's creepy.” 

Steven’s safety was important above all else, except maybe Amethyst who had begun to drift higher into Earth’s atmosphere. Garnet couldn’t always be there to protect him. He needed room to grow and explore and sometimes get hurt. If anything, Garnet needed to catch Amethyst, lest Steven have to experience two regenerations at once. 

When Pearl did return, Steven ran to meet her. Her physical form was only slightly altered, and Garnet hoped that the internal changes were more significant. She quietly accepted the new reincarnation when Pearl joked with Steven and treated him like the young child he was, rather than the woman she would continue to grieve. Pearl couldn’t help but trip up in front of Rose. Next to Steven, this time she stood tall.

**Author's Note:**

> Do let me know if you have any suggestions for future writing.


End file.
